


5 Times Akashi Flirted with Kuroko + 1 Time Kuroko Flirted Back

by bleuchees



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Canon Compliant, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, You know what I mean, and so on and so forth - Freeform, another Getting Together fic, as opposed to fics where it happens yrs down the line and its never clear if canon happened or not, checked for grammar not for quality ;), honestly i think u get the point, i guess, idk - Freeform, like it's built around the events in canon it's not just passively canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 13:37:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13032279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bleuchees/pseuds/bleuchees
Summary: Your heart's been aching but you're too shy to say it.from this prompt: Akakuroaka where ore and boku are both terrible at flirting





	5 Times Akashi Flirted with Kuroko + 1 Time Kuroko Flirted Back

**1.**

Akashi stared at this boy, a strange feeling creeping over him. He stared at him, eyes scanning over a thousand subtle details – the neat tie, hair that looked completely plain but had been brushed, callouses on his hands from handling the ball near constantly. It felt like acid had been poured into his chest, but burnt his nerves before he could register pain: a strange, tingling warmth that permeated him. Akashi knew he was special in the same moment he knew that nobody could see how special he was. And for a brief moment he cherished this small treasure he had found.

"It's the first time I've ever seen anybody who worked so hard, but the results can't be seen." A spark of admiration lit up in Akashi. Would he have the endurance to keep at something even if no one knew? He'd never know. Akashi was always the best.

Curiously, the boy stiffened.

"I'm sorry," he said rigidly. "But I'm not disposed to hear those words right now."

"Ah." Akashi realized his mistake, "Sorry. There's no reason for you to feel that way." He waved his hands uselessly, feeling out of depth. How should he have phrased it…?

Kuroko was like a pearl before swine.

 

**2.**

Akashi adjusted his collar, feeling a little stifled. Valentine's Day always caused a little anxiety. Chocolates would appear in his locker from girls he never met, but the real fear was finding a note from some girl insisting on meeting him in the courtyard. Somehow, Akashi always got the weird ones.

But that wasn't the only reason he was nervous this time. An inconspicuous box of chocolates sat in the corner of his bag, burning a hole in his side where his bag pressed into his hip.

"Kuroko," Akashi called out. Across the courtyard, Kuroko broke off from where he was standing with Aomine and Kise, who stared curiously after him. The sun hung low in the sky – they had just finished practice, a contented exhaustion settling around Kuroko's eyes. A nervous thrill ran through Akashi as he pulled out the box, watching Kuroko's eyes widen in confusion.

"Happy Valentine's Day," he said, holding the box out. Kuroko took it slowly, turning it in his hand.

"I didn't know boys were supposed to give obligation chocolate too," he said worriedly. "I didn't prepare anything."

"Ah?" Akashi reeled a little. "No, it's not out of obligation."

"That's very kind of you to say," Kuroko said warmly. Akashi's head was spinning. Did he say it outright? Surely Kuroko was wilfully misunderstanding him.

"Oi, Tetsu!" Aomine barked at them from where he was waiting impatiently, Momoi peering over curiously.

"I'm sorry, Akashi-kun, I have to go," Kuroko said hurriedly, stepping back. "Thank you again."

Akashi stared at him, frozen in disbelief. _What just happened?_

 

Akashi was in Tokyo to accompany his father to a meeting – a rare opportunity for him to observe business practices, or so he'd said. Akashi stared at his phone as the car rolled down the street, taking him back home.

_Meet me at the coffee shop near Kichijoji station._

Akashi sent out the text. A moment later, his phone pinged.

_No thank you._

Akashi pocketed his phone.

 

**4.**

This time, Akashi had planned things meticulously. There was no room for misunderstandings or Kuroko's silly grudge over the middle school finals. He sent out a text:

_Important meeting. Meet at the park near Teiko. 5PM._

When Kuroko arrived, he eyed his surroundings warily.

"Interesting meeting," he said drily.

"The others couldn't make it," Akashi said smoothly. "I thought since it's Halloween and I happened to be in town, we could go see a haunted house."

"I don't know… if there's no meeting, then I might just go home." Kuroko circled around him, keeping a distance between them. He clearly hadn't bought the lie, but that was to be expected.

"Oh? But I already bought the tickets. It would be such a waste…"

Kuroko eyed him tiredly. "Alright," he said reluctantly.

Some fool jumped out of the shadows, screeching at him. Involuntarily, Akashi jolted. Kuroko sniggered behind him.

"You can hold onto me if you need to," he repeated, suppressing a smile.

Akashi straightened his jacket. "That won't be necessary," he said stiffly.

Though Kuroko did hold onto him after that. Five more idiots tried screeching at Akashi, and he held himself carefully still. By the end of the experience, he was feeling a little stretched thin, though Kuroko seemed to be suppressing a smile.

As they stepped out into the sunlight, though, he started to drift away. Afraid that their date was about to end, Akashi thought quickly.

"Ice cream?" He gestured to a nearby stall.

"That sounds nice," Kuroko agreed easily. He saved them seats on a nearby bench while Akashi went and ordered: vanilla and mint chocolate chip. Carrying them back to the bench, he examined his with a scientific curiosity. He tried a new flavor every time he ate at one of these. This one was a light green, dark blotches of chocolate. Handing Kuroko his cone, Akashi settled down next to him. He gave his ice cream a tentative lick. It was better than the last flavor he'd tried, the mintiness offsetting its thick, sweet flavor. He gave it another couple of licks. Glancing up, he saw that Kuroko's eyes had softened while watching him, and for a moment it felt almost like they were in middle school again.

"You look like a cat," Kuroko said, mouth warm and tilting upward. Akashi saw that he'd taken small bites out of his ice cream, like it was a solid.

Akashi tried biting his and wrinkled his nose. Too cold.

"I forgot, you have a cat's tongue," Kuroko said. "You eat things so cutely." Akashi pounced on the opportunity.

"I think you're the cute one."

"No, that's definitely Akashi-kun," Kuroko said breezily. Akashi opened his mouth and shut it. If he argued, it would sound like bickering. He marveled at Kuroko's ability to rebuff compliments, wracking his brain for ways to get things back on track. Talking about basketball would be a mistake… they would never stop… but it was what they and their friends had in common. Akashi was beginning to sweat nervously.

"Have you been reading anything lately?" he asked.

"Not really… I'm always so tired after practice." With some alarm, Akashi noticed he'd eaten the ice cream scoop down to the cone. His method of biting the ice cream was much faster than licking.

"Still," Akashi thought fast, "as I recall you were in the library committee in Teiko. You must have joined the Seirin library committee as well."

Kuroko sighed. "I did, but basketball practice takes up so much time that I haven't been very active."

_Stop talking about basketball practice_ , Akashi thought irritably. Kuroko's ice cream cone wore down like an hourglass timer before Akashi's eyes.

"What about you?" Kuroko asked. "Are you still a member of the shogi club?"

"Ah… technically."

Kuroko smiled knowingly. Akashi supposed that basketball did eat up a large portion of their lives. Too soon, Kuroko popped the tip of his cone into his mouth.

"Sometimes I remember why I like you," Kuroko said. He got up, dusting off the seat of his pants. "I'll see you at the Winter Cup, Akashi-kun."

Akashi watched him go, an ache in his chest.

**5.**

Akashi's eyes traced the soft pink of Kuroko's scarf. "I suppose Momoi gave that to you?"

Kuroko's fingers flew up to trace its edges, fingers pressing into the fabric. "Yes. She knitted it herself."

Akashi thought back to his chocolates with some wry amusement – the cutesy shapes he had carefully crafted by hand, because that was the way he'd read you were supposed to do it. It was all the same to Kuroko. These small gestures of affection. Akashi felt a dark mood slip over him – he could show up to Kuroko's school and call himself Kuroko's boyfriend, and it still wouldn't get through to him. He'd still leave Akashi dangling, wondering if Kuroko understood his signals, if he reciprocated or not…

"It suits you," Akashi said, a complicated tangle of emotions in his chest. The compliment slid over Kuroko as always, who mumbled a thank you. Akashi leaned back, sighing. On the basketball court, Aomine and Kise played a one-on-one, bickering fiercely. Watching them, he felt his chest slowly unlock.

"…Is something wrong?" Kuroko was perceptive. Akashi always forgot it until he met up with him again. He recalled Kuroko when he first met his other self. _Who are you?_ It had only a few lines of dialogue before he guessed the change in Akashi.

As if summoned, he stirred. **Let me speak to him.**

Akashi looked at Kuroko, into his wide, concerned eyes. "The other Akashi wants to speak to you."

Kuroko's eyes went from concerned to fearful. "He's still in there?"

Akashi leaned back into the tree's shade, its cool blue shadowing sending a slight chill over him as the dregs of winter lingered in the air. Akashi could feel his face shifting into the other Akashi's typical expression – eyes wide and too-seeing, mouth stretched in an unnatural smile.

"I'm still here, Tetsuya."

It was strange for Akashi when he was like this. He could see out of his eyes, but everything felt like it came through a filter – like he was watching a high definition CCTV instead of looking out of his eyes.

"Akashi-kun…?" Kuroko asked tentatively, gaze flickering between Akashi's eyes. Akashi knew he must be seeing a heterochromatic yellow and red. His mouth moved without his bidding.

"If looks could kill, you'd be a weapon of mass destruction." A beat passed. Akashi went into shock.

Kuroko laughed nervously. "What?"

"Do you have a tan, or do you always look this hot?" Akashi was fairly sure that he was just spit-balling now.

"Are these pickup lines?" A smile was growing on Kuroko's face, even if he still looked nonplussed.

"I'm not actually this tall. I'm sitting on my wallet."

"Now that one suits you." Kuroko was full-on smiling now, eyes dancing with amusement. "Do you have any more?"

"You're so beautiful that you made me forget my pickup line."

Kuroko laughed – mouth open, head tipped back. Akashi froze in shock, committing the sound to memory. He couldn't remember the last time Kuroko had laughed like that.

"I'm sorry." Kuroko self-consciously brought a hand up to this mouth. "It's just, coming from you of all people-"

"It's alright." Akashi was smiling – he could feel it. "I found them online."

"You have someone you're interested in?" Kuroko's eyes were still warm, but his smile was fading as he watched Akashi's face.

"Yes." And it was at this moment that Akashi was glad that he had allowed his other self to step forward, because it felt like a weight had unloaded from his chest. He hadn't realized it was such a heavy secret.

Kuroko's eyes widened. "I see." After a moment, he continued: "And does the other Akashi… feel the same?"

"You'd have to ask him." With some alarm, Akashi felt his other self stepping back, allowing him to take control again. His heart sped up; his hands grew clammy.

"Akashi-kun…?" Kuroko's gaze flickered between his eyes again. Despite the clenched feeling in his stomach, Akashi forced himself to answer.

"Yes."

"Is that…?" Kuroko gazed at him questioningly.

"Yes, that's my answer. I feel the same." And it was interesting to watch a complex of emotions pass over Kuroko's face before he smoothed it out.

"I see," he said cryptically. "Well, I'm sure the pickup lines will work."

"Oh?" Akashi's eyebrows raised in surprise.

Kuroko smiled a little. "If it's you, it'll work."

"Tetsu-kun!" Momoi's voice came over. Aomine and Kise had finally grown tired of one-on-one playing, and everyone had gathered into a grouping near the court.

"Did it hurt?"

"What?"

"When you fell from heaven." And inexplicably, this time it worked.

Kuroko's face turned a beet red. "Uh-"

"Tetsu-kun!" Momoi called again.

"I, um-" Kuroko glanced back.

Akashi's kept his face calm. His hands were sweating. "Of course, go ahead."

He watched Kuroko walk away, glancing back, blushing, bewildered. And he felt a nervous excitement that could only be described as hope.

 

**+1**

The first thing that happened after the game with Jabberwock was that Murasakibara went to the hospital.

"I'm so hungry," Aomine whined.

"Hungry!? I can barely lift my arms," Kise said. He was slumped against the hospital wall, completely exhausted. "Somebody call senpai and tell him to come carry me."

"As if, dumbass," Aomine said.

"What??" Kise's head jerked up.

Akashi sighed, tuning them out. He caught Kuroko's eye – the corner of his mouth was twitching up. They both looked away, controlling themselves.

"Alright," Akashi announced. The others quieted to listen to him. "Let's order some food."

"Alright!" Aomine shouted.

" _So,_ " Akashi cut over him, "What are we going to order?"

"Hamburgers," Aomine responded quickly.

"I second that," Kagami called over from next to Himuro. All of them had crammed into the lobby waiting room and Akashi was beginning to feel needling stares from the hospital staff.

Kise groaned loudly. "You always wanna eat hamburgers, I'm sick of it."

"Keep it down or we'll get kicked out," Akashi said quickly. Feeling a fight brewing, he turned to Kuroko, who met his eye knowingly.

"Since Murasakibara-kun is the one who was injured, maybe he should be the one to choose," Kuroko suggested.

"I'm injured too! My muscles feel like they've been set on fire," Kise whined.

"Yeah, but is your arm broken?" Aomine said snidely. While Kise was shooting him a dirty look, Akashi dialed Murasakibara.

"We're going to order food. What do you want?"

"Pizza," Murasakibara grunted. "The sweet kind, with pineapple."

"Okay." Akashi pressed the receiver to his shoulder. "We're ordering pizza," he announced. A groan rose up from Aomine and Kagami. Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Akashi continued. "Decide what type you want."

"Do they have a hamburger pizza?" Aomine asked forlornly.

"Nah, dude, you want the Meat Lovers," Kagami said.

"What? Meat Lovers?" Aomine sat up.

"Yeah, what is it called in Japan?" Kagami turned to Himuro, who gave him a confused look.

"Wouldn't it just be Meat Lover?" he asked.

"Anyways, I'll have two of 'em," Kagami said, turning to Akashi.

"What does the Meat Lover have?" Aomine asked Kagami quietly.

"I don't know, man, everything? It's got ham… pepperoni…"

Akashi turned back to Kuroko. "What will you be having?"

"I'll just have a slice of the pineapple pizza. If Murasakibara likes it, I probably will," he said.

"If Kuroko gets some of my pizza I want a third one!" Murasakibara demanded over the line.

"Alright," Akashi said indulgently. He finished gathering orders: three Tropical pizzas, four Meat Lovers, a sampler for those who eat reasonable amounts, and a Sukiyaki pizza for Kise. In the corner, Takao and Midorima argued in whispers bitterly until Midorima eventually spoke up.

"We'll take a vegetable pizza." Behind him, Takao groaned.

By the time the pizza arrived, they really had been kicked out by a nervous nurse, so they were sitting on the sidewalk waiting for the delivery. It took long enough that Murasakibara emerged, his wrist encased in plaster, by the time they were had sorted out which pizzas belong to whom. He immediately grabbed his three pizzas, reluctantly giving up a slice to Kuroko, before stuffing his face. Akashi took advantage of the brief peace as everyone vacuumed down their pizzas to settle down near Kuroko, who was politely nibbling on his slice. He glanced up at Akashi, scanning their surroundings before lowering the pizza.

"About earlier…" he started. Akashi inclined his head, indicating it was okay to continue. "The other Akashi is…?"

"Gone." Akashi still felt a hollow echo in his chest where someone should be.

"Then," Kuroko's eyes darted between his again, "the current you…"

"Is the same as I was when you first met me. Before I split into two." Akashi studied Kuroko's face, looking for any kind of reaction. It was the same frustrating neutral that Kuroko defaulted to when he was keeping secrets.

"I see," Kuroko muttered. Then his eyes raised to meet Akashi's, and the silence between them slowly charged. "Not exactly the same, I hope."

Akashi wanted to tell him he'd been in love with Kuroko from the first moment he saw him. He wanted to tell him about sleepless nights where he'd imagined his voice with crystal clarity – how he'd been a balm on the irritating mundanity of everyday life that scraped against Akashi. He wanted to kiss him.

He leaned back instead, aware of the group of people around them, and turned back to his pizza.

"I think a few things have changed," he said. He was more cautious now. Since Kuroko's birthday, they hadn't spoken very much. There was the occasional text that Akashi would analyze and re-analyze for hidden meaning, but Kuroko was difficult to read in real life, let alone over toneless text, and it never felt like there was a good excuse to call. Or perhaps a better way of putting it was that Akashi felt like he needed an excuse to call.

Kuroko resumed eating as well, and Akashi wondered if he had made a mistake. He could feel Kuroko's eyes on him every once in a while during the party, as the others finished their pizza and then began to splinter, each heading to their respective homes.

Akashi turned, pulling out his phone to call his driver, until a voice stopped him.

"What? You're not going to walk me to the station?" Kuroko teased, hand brushing Akashi's arm. A thrill ran through him, settling in his stomach uneasily.

"Worried that you'll get lost?"

"Oh, I'm always lost without you." Kuroko's mouth curled up at the corners as he suppressed laughter. Akashi felt a bubbling excitement in his belly, sending fizz into his head and making him feel light-headed. He was certain. He was absolutely certain, he'd never been more certain in his life- He grabbed the sleeve of Kuroko's jacket, pulling him under the awning of a hole-in-the-wall store. In the deep shadow cast over them, he cradled Kuroko's face with both hands, feeling the warm of his neck and the steady beat of his pulse.

"And if I walk you home, what do I get?" he murmured, running his thumbs over Kuroko's cheekbones.

Not wasting any words, Kuroko lurched upward, their mouths colliding with a jolt. Nameless emotion bubbled and boiled over in Akashi. His chest felt too small to hold it – the culmination of a year's worth of longing. His eyes prickled – he'd shut them reflexively. As Kuroko began to pull away, unsteady on his tiptoes, Akashi began to register physical sensation, as if there'd been a lag. Kuroko's lips were warm. It seemed odd – Kuroko always looked so cool and collected, but he was warm and unsteady.

"Um." Kuroko was smiling, his lips pressed together to try to suppress it.

They walked in silence, neither of them sure what to say. When they reached the station, they both lingered outside the ticket station, ignoring the bustling crowd of workers returning home.

"Then, I'll see you-?" Kuroko looked at him hopefully.

"On spring break. And before, if I can manage it." They lingered a bit longer, shifting their weight as the temperature dropped. Kuroko glanced around himself quickly and, steeling himself, dove in for a rapid kiss on the cheek. It was so light that Akashi barely felt it, but it sent butterflies fluttering down his body. He turned and walked away quickly, head down, avoiding eye contact with others.

As Akashi walked in the other direction, he noticed his cheeks aching. Reaching up to touch them, he felt a smile. It must have been there the whole time.

**Author's Note:**

> bitch im back  
> if you're waiting on an update from my two WIPs, feel free to bother me abt it on my akakuro sideblog [kurokolovesakashi](http://kurokolovesakashi.tumblr.com), where im currently taking requests. or in the comments idc  
> Huge thanks to the anon who sent this in, you're the sweetest person of all time and I would marry you if only I were worthy ~☆
> 
> oh and the summary is a quote from Never Gonna Give You Up bc that song single handedly pulled me thru writing this fic when i got stuck, god bless Rick Astley


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